Though it goes by various appellations the dunk, slam, or jam, this shot is one of the most spectacular in the game of basketball. During the course of a monster jam, however, there frequently is violent, forceful contact of the player's hands with the goal. If the goal is rigidly mounted, that contact can damage the goal and, potentially, the player's hands. Accordingly, it is common today for basketball goals to be reflexably mounted to the backboard whereby the goal hoop can be deflected downward during a dunk, but will resume its normal horizontal position thereafter, all without damage to the goal.
Children typically are very impressed with the acrobatics and power of the slam dunk, and with scaled-down, beginner basketball equipment, will attempt to play above the rim at every opportunity. There is, therefore, a real need for reflex mounting assemblies for beginner, nonregulation basketball goals. Unfortunately, conventional reflex mounting assemblies suffer one or more of a number of defects, especially when used with beginner equipment.
The prior art reflex mounting assembly shown in FIGS. 1-2, which is designed for use with beginner equipment, may be used to highlight the deficiencies of many conventional devices. As shown therein, the reflex mounting assembly 30 comprises an L-shaped bracket 31 pivotally attached to a backboard 20 by a hinge 32. The hinge pin 33a is an integral part of a pair of rigid braces 33 disposed, respectively, between each side of the vertical portion 31a of the L-shaped bracket 31 and the corresponding side of the hoop 11. The hoop 11 is attached to the horizontal portion 31b of the L-shaped bracket 31.
A compression spring assembly 34 comprising a compression spring 35 and a nut 36, bolt 37, and various washers passes through suitably designed apertures in the backboard 20 and the vertical portion 31a of the L-shaped bracket 31. Accordingly, when the hoop 11 is subjected to a downward force, the spring 35 resists the downward force with an opposing force transmitted between the front face of the vertical portion 31a of the pivoting L-shaped bracket 31 and the stationary washer 38. Upon termination of the downward force, the compression spring assembly acts to return the goal 10 to its normal horizontal position.
Initially it should be noted that the compression spring assembly 34 must be assembled by the user during the process of mounting the goal 10 to the backboard 20. Unfortunately, it comprises a number of parts which can be lost or misassembled. Even apart from such problems, however, installation of the spring assembly 34 is not necessarily a straightforward matter. The spring assembly 34 must support the hoop 11 in an essentially horizontal position, and it must do so with sufficient force to keep the hoop 11 substantially stable during normal impact with a basketball. At the same time, it should not be so firm that the hoop 11 is not easily deflected by contact incidental to a dunk shot. The force imparted by the spring assembly 34 is controlled by loading the spring, i.e., tightening the nut 36 on the threaded bolt 37. This loading, of course, must be accomplished by a consumer who may find it difficult or impossible to determine the appropriate degree of loading. Accordingly, even if the spring assembly 34 is not misassembled, the consumer invariably is put to greater effort in mounting the goal.
The complexity of conventional mounting assemblies for regulation equipment usually is even greater, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,503 to E. Mahoney et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,544 to J. O'Donnell. Such designs are more difficult and costly to manufacture, and thus, really are too expensive to be used with beginner equipment. Installation of regulation mounting assemblies often is even more complicated than that of the still complex, but more simple design shown in FIGS. 1-2.
Moreover, the compression spring assembly 34 of the mounting assembly shown in FIGS. 1-2 protrudes out from the face of the vertical portion 31a of the L-shaped bracket 31. Many conventional mounting assemblies for regulation equipment also comprise protruding parts, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,709 to E. Schroeder et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,839 to J. Simonseth. Such protruding parts create a risk of injury to player's hands, particularly those of younger, more inexperienced players who also may be playing with non-regulation equipment at much lower goal heights.
Finally, it also should be noted that the rim typically will be released quite suddenly, so that the hoop will spring back to the horizontal position with considerable momentum. In the prior art device shown in FIGS. 1-2, therefore, the vertical portion 31a of the L-shaped bracket 31 can strike the backboard 20 with such force that backboards made from more frangible materials, such as press board, which for cost factors is otherwise a preferred material in beginner equipment, eventually are damaged. This problem is only exacerbated when the spring assembly 34 is overloaded by an unsophisticated consumer.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a reflex mounting assembly which is more simple in design, more easily and cheaply manufactured, and more easily installed by the user.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a reflex mounting assembly having a minimum number of projecting, metallic parts upon which players may injure themselves.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide a reflex mounting assembly wherein wear on the backboard is reduced.
It also is an object of the subject invention to provide a reflex mounting assembly wherein all of the above mentioned advantages are realized.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.